The Irish standard., 1887-08-06
AN INDIAN BAZAR.
4 Sight Nowhere to Be Equaled for In
congruity and Scenic Effect.


congruity and Scenic Effect.
/ What the boulevard is to the Partisan,
/ Rotten Row to the Elglishman and
Broadway to the New Yorker, the In
dian bazaar is to the Hindostani. The
Indian bazar is conglomeration Of
open shops and q general heaping-lp
n the streets of perishable wares. Not
only is it a place for barter and pusi.
ness, but il is a huge rendezvous alike
1 for the idle and the busy.
1. And what study is a bazar! Here
can be seen in indescribable confusion
a Kaleidoscope panorama Of cloth and
color-a sight nowhere to be equaled
for incongruity and scenic effect--for
here, side by side, are evidences of a
time when the world was yet young.
One can see the jaunty dog-cart of the
civil servant pick a tortuous passage
through the jostling throng, its hub
grinding against the great clumsy
wheels of an ox-cart conveying party
Of closely muffled and ! ealously cur
tanned women to some sacred bathing
CHAT; there q clumsy camel, here
numbering elephant with d howdah ON
back and two loosely trousered guards
men in advance, with long spears rest
ing on shoulder the cortege OF some
| Indian Prince; whilst hither and tl1ither
strolls the sacred bull, eating at grain
stores, and as likely as not to prong
with his gold tipped horns a. man not
careful enough to get out Of his way.
| The bazar Us an architectural study
is interesting, for it can l,e seen that
! before the era of cities the bazaar was
the general meeting place for the trans
action Of business. Properly speaking,
there is in every native city principal
baza1, which bears q close resemblance
to the plaza, Of Mexican and South
American cities. II is a great, broad,
open platform. we'll paved and sur
rounded by high buildings, the lower
floors Of these structures being but |
open caverns, in which the storekeeper
sits with his wares piled about him.
Various alleys, which were formerly
probably by-paths, lead into The bazaar.
These, as the city grew, began to be
lined with private dwellings, Some of
these are mere novels. Others tower !
high into the air Generally in close
proximity to the bazaar is place Of
worship--either mosque Or g Hindoo |
temple.
The stores, to which allusion has beer |
made, are used only for the sale Of |
precious. or rather valuable, merchan-
disc, such as cloth and jewelry. The !
main door of the bazaar is jealouslY |
piectl out among the numerous huck- /
sters.
Tire fruitercr brings along with hln,
his long train Of buffaloes from whose
SIDES hang big sacks laden with the
products Of his gal,ien--the water
melon from the sandy banks Of the
river, the l.acions mango from the no
Bile groves, the acid bthr. on Indian
plum; the loGuat&, the He},5, the null
berry, and the miserable gooseberry,
whese green fruit IS hidden ia a thin
shell. From ,ti1rtc inmen1orial the
fruiterer has occupied that distinct
spot, and:no one vu?ld encvoseh upon
his prerogativc. From a dismal, dirty
kitchen, with a tray CT greasy sweets
upon his head, a pair oa wooden scales
in his hands, naked, with the exception
of a dingy loin cloth, is the 7sctas
syttllaA, or sweet-n1eat man He. too,
has his spot, which is Invariably next
to the fruit nan.
A not uninportant nrssn in this com
munity is the money changer. 10 the
people Of this coast whose ideas OF
small change are limited to the nickel.
it can hardly be conceived that there
exiets SO small a circulating medium
as 1900 cowries to 81 cents. The
money changer combines q, money
lending business as well: and it is well
known Of him that he is the human
blood sucker Of the carcasses Of his
countrymcn. He is always Hindoo-
who, squatting among his pyr>lnidal
heaps Of cowrv shells, pie, ptce and
Gu,,a represents the very incarnation
of ofsordid wealth He will Maggie and
bicl1cr for his percentage by the hour
over the miserable cowry. and win per {
jure his soul many a time and often I
in describing the. fluctuations Of the
market owing to the de- (,
pressed condition of trade in conse- ,
quence Of great war that is raging in
England. The Hindoos monopolize
the bazaar trade.
As the bazaar is totally controlled by s
Hindoos, it may naturally be under I
stood that it is cleanly. The Hindoo's 1
creed is cleanliness above godliness.
Eie is indeed outwardly an i1nnacu-
late creature, washing and piirging his
physical self many times day, while
his moral self may be groveling in the s
lowest depths Of chicanery and deceit /
There can not be brought TO the bazaar
odorous wares. Fish and butcher-stalls 8
are not permitted within the confines
If the big bazars. Cor san Francis
20 Chronicle.